Schools are meant to be about developing students to think about the world around them and the future. Yet many schools continue to use school phone systems that hark back to the days of their students’ grandparents!
Schools and phones
Of course, students don’t attend school or college to study school phone systems. It’s possible to argue that it should be of no concern to students whether or not the school’s business telecoms are state of the art or better suited to a museum.
However, having antiquated school phone systems may affect the school’s ability to deliver education to their students in the most efficient manner possible.
It may also not help create the most appropriate cultural base for students and their future attitudes to development and progression if they see professional staff trying to get by with telephone systems that are simply not fit for purpose.
The visible effects
If you think that such shortcomings either aren’t visible or have no effect, then it may be advisable to think again.
For example:
- being unable to access a phone conveniently located in your area of the school;
- needing to use students as messengers between classrooms and the admin office;
- phones that can’t transfer calls around; etc.
None of these sorts of things are likely to help your school function efficiently or help students believe that their educational establishment is exactly progressive and on top of the information and communication revolutions.
The practicalities
It’s also possibly worth keeping in mind the hidden costs and risks associated with using obsolete phone systems.
You may simply get lucky but perhaps more likely is the scenario where your old system becomes increasingly unreliable and expensive (perhaps impossible) to maintain.
Then there are those scenarios where there is an emergency and the only on the spot option is to send off runners taking messages to the school office asking for phone calls to be made – not amusing if that’s right on the other side of your school premises.
The costs
It’s a fact that today many education budgets are under intense pressure and that may lead to the temptation to dismiss out of hand any suggestion relating to upgrading your phone systems.
However, in reality there is a range of new phone systems; supplied by reputable companies such as Siemens, that may be far more reasonably priced than you would perhaps imagine.
The initial system can be small and can grow as your needs evolve.
The modern generation of school phone systems can increase the flexibility, and security of your school operations. It may also help at least some students believe that their establishment is part of the modern as opposed to yesterday’s world.
Tags: school phone systems
